I just became aware of a “letter to the editor” on the above subject written by Ken Huber of Tawas City, Michigan. This letter initially appeared in the Iosco County News Herald on June 9, 2010. While I am not in complete agreement with some of his examples, the overall question he raises is appropriate.

Ken Huber’s observations may be even more relevant today than they were a year ago. Since the letter was written, the size of our government has expanded, more regulations have been imposed, we have moved further toward socialism and wealth redistribution, and our President is using “Executive Orders” to replace our legitimate legislative process. The “Occupy Wall Street” mobs appear to support anarchy over law and order, communism over capitalism, and destruction over constructive action. All of this is very disturbing and is eroding our individual and business freedoms, stifling economic growth, and increasing the scope of government far beyond the intentions of the founders of our country. If you love our country and the freedoms it has provided, I suggest that you give consideration to the observations Ken Huber’s letter presents and their implications for our country’s current and future leadership. For those who have not seen it earlier, repeated verbatim below is Ken’s letter.

What has America become?

Editor,

Has America become the land of special interest and home of the double standard?

Lets see: if we lie to the Congress, it’s a felony and if the Congress lies to us its just politics; if we dislike a black person, we’re racist and if a black person dislikes whites, its their 1st Amendment right; the government spends millions to rehabilitate criminals and they do almost nothing for the victims; in public schools you can teach that homosexuality is OK, but you better not use the word God in the process; you can kill an unborn child, but it is wrong to execute a mass murderer; we don’t burn books in America, we now rewrite them; we got rid of communist and socialist threats by renaming them progressive; we are unable to close our border with Mexico, but have no problem protecting the 38th parallel in Korea; if you protest against President Obama’s policies you’re a terrorist, but if you burned an American flag or George Bush in effigy it was your 1st Amendment right.

You can have pornography on TV or the internet, but you better not put a nativity scene in a public park during Christmas; we have eliminated all criminals in America, they are now called sick people; we can use a human fetus for medical research, but it is wrong to use an animal.

We take money from those who work hard for it and give it to those who don’t want to work; we all support the Constitution, but only when it supports our political ideology; we still have freedom of speech, but only if we are being politically correct; parenting has been replaced with Ritalin and video games; the land of opportunity is now the land of hand outs; the similarity between Hurricane Katrina and the gulf oil spill is that neither president did anything to help.

And how do we handle a major crisis today? The government appoints a committee to determine who’s at fault, then threatens them, passes a law, raises our taxes; tells us the problem is solved so they can get back to their reelection campaign.

What has happened to the land of the free and home of the brave?

– Ken HuberTawas City

These are troubling trends and I also ask the same questions about what our nation is becoming and where our current government is taking us. Are we on the right or the wrong track? Is a politically correct, European-style unsustainable welfare state in the best interests of ourselves and our children? Does the transfer of wealth from those who create it to those who consume it increase or decrease our country’s economic growth and prosperity? Do you believe free market capitalism or more government regulation and control is the best solution to our fiscal and debt crises and the stagnate economy? These are some of the questions we all should consider before our next election.

I believe our government is too large, too centralized, too oppressive, and is out of touch with the desires of the American people. If you share this view, I suggest you commit yourselves to understanding the serious issues confronting our country and actively work to elect representatives who believe in our US Constitution, individual freedoms, free markets, sound fiscal and monetary policy, and limited government. Let’s correct our nation’s course in 2012!

Yes, the traditional “American Dream” is probably dying if the divisive socialist and antibusiness policies of President Obama, the Democrats, and the Unions continue to be supported by our government. Already much damage is being done by the passage of Obamacare, the Dodd-Frank Financial Regulations Act (including the new Bureau of Consumer Financial Protection and the Durbin Amendment), the EPA, the NLRB, and now full force “Class Warfare” by the President to divide the country in an apparent attempt to be reelected. Martin Luther King Jr’s memorial opens this week and his famous “I have a Dream!” speech was about national unity and equality of opportunity not class divisions and wealth redistribution. If we want to preserve our freedoms, our opportunities, and our exceptionalism as a nation, these destructive attacks on our economy, attempts to divide the American people, and collectivist “nanny-state” policies must be stopped and reversed. We must protect and preserve “The American Dream” for future generations and ourselves.

Our traditional view of “The American Dream” is based on the principles our Founding Fathers and Patriots risked and gave their lives to secure for our country and our future. These values were documented in The Declaration of Independence, The Constitution, and The Bill of Rights. Primarily these values are: guaranteed individual freedoms (especially from government), equal opportunities for all Americans, decentralized governance BY THE PEOPLE, free market capitalism based on private property ownership, and a specifically limited-power federal government. These fundamental principles have provided all Americans the opportunity to choose our careers, succeed (or fail) based on our own decisions, and retain the fruits of our labor reasonably free from oppressive regulations, unnecessary controls, and excessive taxation. These freedoms and privileges essentially stood for over a century from our nation’s founding until the passage of the 16th Amendment in 1913 authorizing direct federal taxation. Since the authorization of direct federal taxation these basic rights have been inexorably eroded as the size, scope, controls, and restrictions by government over our lives and our economic opportunities has expanded. It is time to get government off our backs and return to our traditional vision of success embodied in “The American Dream”.

The socialist and antibusiness agenda supported by President Obama and his allies is accelerating the destruction of this dream. Obama’s alternative is a collectivist society of mandated wealth sharing, unsustainable federal spending, high taxation, limited individual and business freedoms, and highly centralized governance. Obama appears to want a federal government with virtually unlimited power to regulate, control and dictate our lives, our property, and our businesses, including the transfer of wealth from those who have created jobs and earned it to those who have not. Just look at the current “Occupy Wall Street” mobs that have picked up Obama’s message and essentially want to destroy the capitalism that made our country great. Socialism doesn’t work as the former Soviet Union and most European countries, especially Greece, have learned. As Margaret Thatcher said, “The problem with socialism is that you eventually run out of other people’s money”. Is this the vision of America’s future that you support?

So how has the growth of “progressive” or socialist policies influenced “The American Dream” over the last century? Federal income taxes have “progressed” from a maximum rate of 7% in 1913 to a current rate of 35%. Obama and the Democrats are proposing to raise this rate to 40%. (Note: this rate does NOT include the approximate 15% in federal “payroll taxes” additionally paid by employees and employers or State and Local taxes.) Federal government spending has “progressed” from 3% of our national economy in 1913, to a current level of 25% under President Obama (an increase in the size of government by 5% in just two and one-half years by Obama). The number of federal government agencies, bureaus, departments, and employees has exploded since 1913 under both Republicans and Democrats. This was especially true under President Roosevelt’s “New Deal”, President Johnson’s “Great Society”, President Bush’s “Prescription Drug” legislation, and now President Obama’s “Healthcare” and “Financial Regulations”.

The Obama Administration alone has more than doubled the ANNUAL Federal Deficit, increased the National Debt by approximately 40%, increased the cost, uncertainty, and complexity of healthcare, and passed sweeping and largely unnecessary regulation over our essential financial industry. Obama’s healthcare plan alone creates an estimated 159 new agencies and the Dodd-Frank Act requires an estimated 387 new regulations across 20 agencies. The EPA under Lisa Jackson wants to implement and administer new business and job killing environmental regulations that are projected to cost tens of thousands of jobs and increase our energy costs. Essential domestic fossil fuel exploration and development in America has been virtually shut down. (Note: Opening our domestic energy resources could create hundreds of thousands of good American jobs and improve national energy security.) Among other pro-union activities, the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) is attempting to stop final implementation of Boeing’s new “Dreamliner” factory in South Carolina. The Department of Justice (DOJ) under Eric Holder is disrupting our legal system, suing States for trying to enforce immigration laws, and interfering with mergers that would improve the competitiveness of American Business. Obama’s failed economic policies have stifled business and job creation, stagnated our economy, and significantly expanded the size and spending of our government. These policies are radically advancing an unsustainable European-style centrally planned socialist welfare state for our country and eroding our individual and economic freedoms. Are these “progressive” social policies enhancing our lives or your vision of “The American Dream”?

If we don’t stop this madness and get the government off our backs and our businesses, “The American Dream” of opportunity and success will continue to die and may be destroyed. A nation cannot be successful by confiscating wealth from those who create it and redistributing it to those who do not. Leftwing collectivist policies do not work. These are not the foundation of freedoms and opportunities upon which our country was created and which made America great. It’s time to take back our country and restore “The American Dream”. Let’s get to work!